(Casper, WY) -- Protecting your home against break-ins and
burglaries is mostly common sense. That was the message from Sgt. Joe Nickerson
of the Casper Police Department during Senior-Wise, the weekly information and
discussion program held at the Casper Senior Center. "We tend to take
things for granted because people feel safe here in Casper," he said, "and
I'm glad of that. But as our population grows that means the number of
criminals grows too." He told the audience that 70% of burglaries happen
during the day because that's when criminals assume the homeowner is at work.
Casper
is a safe community, he noted. We don't have a problem with violent person
crimes against strangers and we don't have many muggings or home invasions. "However,"
he said, "the cases like that we DO have are what we call doper on doper
crime, where someone breaks into a house to settle a drug debt." Sgt.
Nickerson said homicides and other violent crimes in Casper are usually
domestic related or drug and alcohol related. "So in that sense," he
said, "we are a pretty safe city."
He
cautioned that the houses that ARE broken into usually have unlocked doors and
unlocked windows. "Again, it's common sense," he reminded. "Keep
your house locked, even when you're home. Criminals are like cockroaches --
they don't like the light and they don't like being seen. Casper criminals
aren't professional, they're looking for quick opportunities to score some easy
money."
Being
protected isn't just a matter of keeping your doors and windows locked. He said
homeowners also need to pay attention to landscaping, suggesting trees and
bushes are kept trimmed back. "Criminals
don't like being seen from the street so you should trim trees so the branches
are at least seven feet higher than the ground. And trim bushes and shrubs
below the windows on your house," he said.
Home
security alarms are good a good way to protect your belongings but Sgt. Nickerson
issued the reminder that if you have them installed in your home you'll need to
get a city permit, at a cost of about $15 per year. "And I like audible
alarms rather than silent alarms," he said. "Audible alarms are more
likely to scare the bad guys away. It makes it harder for us to catch them but
they're more likely to keep your home safe." He said the Casper police
department's average response to top priority emergency calls is between three
and four minutes.
Unfortunately,
if your belongings are stolen the odds of getting them back are not very good.
"That's because people fail to mark their belongings or write down serial
numbers," he said. "That's especially true for items like cameras,
TVs, and computer equipment. "The number one way of getting your stuff
back," he noted, "is through recording serial numbers. Also, take
photos of unique items without serial numbers, like jewelry."
Finally,
Sgt. Nickerson said if you ever feel threatened in your home call 9-1-1 even if
you're too scared to speak. Leave the line open and the operator can hear
what's going on in the background.
Senior-Wise
is held Tuesday afternoons at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment